Update, 8:40 pm: Jacksonville police have identified the gunman as David Katz, 24, of Baltimore. He was reportedly in Jacksonville for the video game tournament where the shooting occurred. Additionally, police are now saying three people are dead, including Katz; previous reports said as many as four people had been killed. According to the New York Times, nine victims ranging in age from 20 to 35 are being treated at two local hospitals; all are expected to survive, although one victim was in serious condition.
Original post: There was a mass shooting at a downtown marketplace in Jacksonville, Florida, during a video game tournament Sunday. Early reports say that at least 11 people were shot and four were killed. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office tweeted that one suspect was dead at the scene and at a news conference later in the day said there were “no outstanding suspects.” The sheriff’s office had said earlier there were “multiple fatalities” but did not release any detailed information. Authorities have also urged people to stay away from the area because it “is not safe.”
The shooting took place during the Madden 19 Tournament at the GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville, Florida, according to CompLexity Gaming, one of the professional gaming teams that had a player at the event. The tournament was taking place at the Jacksonville Landing, a waterfront site in downtown Jacksonville with lots of bars and restaurants.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the shooter was a gamer who was competing in the tournament and lost, according to Steven “Steveyj” Javaruski, who was also competing in the tournament. The shooter later turned the gun on himself, Javaruski told the Times. “Thank god I’m safe but I’m broken over this,” Javaruski wrote in a tweet.
“I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb,” wrote Drini Gjoka, the CompLexity Gaming player. “I will never take anything for granted ever again. Life can be cut short in a second,” he wrote in a subsequent tweet.
A witness at a nearby Hooters told CNN someone who was wounded came into the restaurant. “I was in Hooters, all I heard was he got a gun and the shooting started,” the witness told CNN. “One of the men ran into Hooters with the shot wounds—they locked us in the restaurant.”
A broadcast of the tournament on Twitch captured the moment when gunshots appeared to suddenly interrupt an ongoing game. Although the video doesn’t show any images, it does contain disturbing audio that appears to be of the moment the shooting began and people trying to process the aftermath. Gunshots and screams can be heard in the video that was quickly taken down from the Twitch platform.
This is a breaking news story and has been updated with new information since it was first published.
